Major construction site completes on the NLHPP to unlock future recycling & waste management facilities

North London Waste Authority (NLWA) is pleased to announce that construction on the Laydown Area has completed as part of building a new sustainable waste management hub at Edmonton EcoPark, the North London Heat and Power Project (NLHPP).

Completion of the Laydown Area marks a major step forward to deliver new recycling facilities at Edmonton EcoPark. NLWA’s contractor Buckingham Group Ltd began construction in January 2019 and last week handed the completed site over to NLWA.

Prior to being developed, the Laydown Area was an unused brownfield site. However, it will now be used by NLWA’s main contractors to assemble materials before transporting them to the EcoPark, as well as housing the workforce in the newly built office and welfare facilities. The first contractor to use the finished Laydown Area is Taylor Woodrow, the contractor building new flagship recycling facilities as part of EcoPark South.

Councillor Clyde Loakes, Chair of NLWA said, “The new facilities being delivered in the first phase on construction on the North London Heat and Power Project represent a major investment in recycling infrastructure for north London’s residents. We are committed to boosting household recycling rates and helping tackle the Climate Emergency by encouraging residents to reduce, reuse and recycle whenever possible”.

EcoPark South is NLWA’s £100m investment in recycling and waste management facilities. Construction started in January 2021 to build a Resource Recovery Facility (RRF), which will be one of the largest publicly owned facilities of its kind in London with capacity to manage 135,000 tonnes of recyclable material every year, as well as a public Reuse and Recycling Centre, allowing north London residents and businesses to bring their recycling direct to the EcoPark for the first time ever. This is part of NLWA’s commitment to help drive up north London’s household recycling rates to 50%.

Also being brought forward in this phase of construction is a new visitor and education centre known as EcoPark House, where the local community will be able to learn more about waste management and recycling, and how to reduce the carbon impact of their waste. It will also provide a new modern home for the Edmonton Sea Cadets.

David Cullen, Programme Director of the NLHPP said, “The timely completion of the Laydown Area represents a major milestone to deliver our national green infrastructure project. The site is essential in order to allow our contractor Taylor Woodrow to progress with construction of recycling facilities and provide a high standard of office and welfare facilities for their workforce”.

The Project has a target of 10% expenditure with local businesses. During the fit out of the Laydown Area office and welfare facilities, the Project appointed an Enfield-based IT consultant, James Clear-Tournas from JCT IT Consultant to carry out the broadband connection. Using James’ technical expertise, he helped the Project to identify a cost-saving solution which provided a service upgrade for LondonEnergy Ltd, as well as a fast and reliable connection to the Laydown Area offices.

James said, “North London Waste Authority provided me with an excellent opportunity to provide IT services to a large national infrastructure project. Working on the project has given me a launchpad to work on other projects of similar scales and complexities in the future”.

James Clear-Tournas from JCT IT Consultant

The NLHPP is delivering a wide range of benefits for the local community including an industry leading apprenticeship programme of at least 100 apprenticeships and at least 225 on-site training placements. So far, the Project has created 13 apprenticeships, three of which were based on the Laydown Area.

Hakeem Badmus, age 22, Craig Lackhurst, age 25, and Kaya Hinds, age 20 all from Enfield, started their apprenticeships working with Buckingham Group Ltd on the Laydown Area. They have now transferred to other contractors on the Project to continue their learning and development on the NLHPP.

During construction of the Laydown Area, 22 on-site training placements were delivered by Buckingham Group Ltd. The training placements are aimed at local residents looking to start a career in construction. They provide an opportunity to gain new skills and work towards obtaining a Construction Skills Certificate Scheme (CSCS) card for onward employment.

Progress on the NLHPP is moving at pace. Major construction commenced in January 2021 to build new recycling facilities and other works at the EcoPark continue to progress. By the end of this year, the contract for the new Energy Recovery Facility is expected to be awarded – representing the largest Authority contract award to date.

New office and welfare facilities at the Laydown Area